Ain't No Mountain High Enough...

... but let's start with gentle hills!

That could definitely be my motto for the running season 2017-2018. After a 2016-2017 season marked by my return to running from scratch and several races, I started the current one with an idea in mind: changing the way I run to safeguard my knees and extend by many years my running hobby. But let's backtrack a bit...

Spring 2015, in the full swing of enjoying trail running in Guadeloupe less than six months after my first race ever, I am ramping up recklessly mileage. Knee pains are also steadily increasing. The MRI concludes that I have started to damage quite well the cartilages of both of my knees and if I continue I am on a short path straight to arthrosis (and no more running). Back to September 2017...

After a first season, I decide that now is the time to do something to extend my runner's life expectancy. I end up finding two revealing books.

One is called "Born to run" and talks about mystic Mexicans running miles and miles in slipper type shoes in the middle of mountains. Very inspiring and motivating to go back at running even stronger.

Born to run book

The second is called "Courir léger" (or light running) and details how to switch to a mid-foot type of running that is gentler on the knees and used by the best runners. I boarded the train of this new type of running, switching my usual running shoes to minimalist shoes for halifax of my runs, starting back from scratch.

Back to the future...

Courir léger

On the 28th September 2018, on the eve of my first race of the 2017-2018 season: Beat to snot. After twelve months of running, I have expanded my mileage, acquired a new way of running that made all my knee pains disappear and I enjoyed some long trail runs in the middle of Nova Scotian nowhere. All this to be ready for this race. The race I wanted to do when I landed in Canada in August 2015. A gruelling 18km with more than 1,300m of positive elevation. Wish me luck and see you soon for some news on this adventure!

A preview for tomorrow's race...

Wish me Luck!

Antoine

Running towards better health

5k a day for 30 days!

For someone that would say 'oh running isn't for me, not my sport' and was (and maybe still is) convinced that she just cannot do it, this is just out of this world because she is doing it. Completely blowing my mind and everyone that knows her for the past 30 days, regardless of the situation the day brings (birthday celebrations, camping weekend, rainy days) relentlessly unyielding, she made sure to clock that 5k a day.

Congratulations Cavita for achieving this! I am so very proud of you and look forward to us running together!

Week 1

"The first day/week is always the hardest. Getting out of bed and finding that motivation to go out into the streets alone in the early hours of the morning was the hardest" says Cavita. The alarm would go off and, as I would difficultly crawl out of bed, 5-10 minutes later Cavita would every time get up, get dressed and get out of the apartment.

I began making her oats for breakfast to help her cells repair and keep her full throughout her mornings until lunch comes around. A typical breakfast was oats, topped with either almond butter, peanut butter or hazelnut butter for added protein & minerals, some hemp hearts and some fruits (whatever we had on the day). Some days she did a green smoothie with celery, spinach, cucumbers, lemon and ginger.

Week 2

Antoine: You're going out again?

Cavita: Yeah, I like hitting the streets in the morning, it's peaceful and it feels like I get to run around the city like a happy bunny while everyone is asleep, kind of like our 'board kings' game.

She certainly lives in her own world! Week two (2) her motivation was a bit of a rollercoaster as some days she was excited to go and some days she didn't make it in the morning and went out in the evenings.

I could see the obsession with statistics starting. First it was the map, showing the path of the run. "Look what I did, isn't it cool?!" she says and then she would take different paths and switch things up.

Then she discovered her app tracks the time and the calories burnt. The new thing became "ok I have to at-least burn 300 calories, I am going to burn off at-least 1 meal a day" she says. So if it's a weekend and we had plans, we had to find a way to incorporate a walk that is usually over 5k (and around 1 hour!) that would accumulate to at least 300 burnt calories. She isn't counting calories on food and meals but somehow because the app shows this information it was a new motivation to clock the distance in along with being a new target.

Week 3

She says "my legs feel stronger, I can go longer before having to mentally convince myself I can make it". Sometimes my yoga mat would get invaded and I would be kicked out of our yoga room :/ the pleasures of living with Queen V.

She began incorporating yoga with focus on stretching the legs. She completed her regular yoga sessions and would say "I think I might be ready for the next level, it doesn't feel challenging anymore at this level".

Weeks 4 & 5

As she got closer to the end line, she got faster. From 1 hour at the beginning to cover 5km, she now makes it in 45 minutes. Going with her on some of her runs, she closely monitors her pace to ensure that every time she improved her speed, pushing herself beyond her limits.

And now she has done it: 30 days of 5km everyday... 150kms of running/walking! Huge!

Let's talk results!

During this time she reduced her fat percentage and gained muscle mass. Although her weight was not shifting by much (around 2kgs at most), her body physic has gotten lean. Her body was converting fat to muscle to sustain the distance, speed and workout frequency she was doing. Once the body had the muscle requirement for the task, the fat started disappearing, resulting in overall weight loss!

She expressed she had more energy during the day and noticed she was not gaining any weight on days where she would splurge and have cakes, drinks and treats either celebrating birthdays with friends or during an adventurous lavish weekend.

When asked, what about running did you enjoy the most she responded 'I really enjoyed being on the streets in the early hours on the morning , feeling the cool wind on my skin, pushing past my own boundaries and feeling those pearls of sweat drip when I come to pause at a traffic light. It's me out there, working at a challenge I've set for me, I'm in control of my body and my health, I'm steering this ship and i'm setting the mood and intentions for my day...it's my time you know'.

So what now? She will continue running 5k, perhaps every other day. She is thinking of slowing down the days and mixing it with long walking in between to rest the muscles and work on increasing the endurance over distance. She says 'I can go on long hikes with you now and not slow you down, but only if it's in the bush with lots of forest ok. I don't like the scorching sun but I can deal with the bugs... I'll have a word with the bugs'. No doubt, Queen of her own world.

I hope this story inspires you to set your own goals, surprise yourself and accomplish the unbelievable at your own pace. Anything is possible once you make it your priority, you will make time for it. What's your 30 day challenge?